Landmark sleep apnea ruling helps plaintiffs collect $6M in Greyhound crash
A court-ordered sleep apnea test of a Greyhound Lines bus driver is said to have paved the way for a $6 million settlement in a Texas rollover crash case.
This was the first such overnight assessment ever OK’d by a trial court and upheld on appeal, according to attorney Ryan Zehl. He represented plaintiffs in the Dallas County case, Courthouse News reports.
The five plaintiffs alleged that the driver “fell asleep or lost consciousness at the wheel” roughly a month after a U.S. Department of Transportation medical examiner said he might have sleep apnea and recommended an overnight study.
“Despite these warnings, Greyhound never had the driver tested for sleep apnea and claimed, instead, that the driver lost consciousness after choking on a sip of coffee while driving the bus,” Zehl’s office said in a written statement provided to the news service.
Greyhound declined to comment when contacted by Courthouse News, saying that settlements are usually confidential.
